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Post by Jeff Stone on Aug 23, 2005 10:07:30 GMT
Hello fellow Kiwi DW fans, what I am about to suggest will no doubt be viewed as crazy and unrealistic, but here we go anyway. Publish and be damned. Why don't a group of us NZ fans write very nicely to Television New Zealand and ask them if they wouldn't mind six or seven of us coming in every Sunday afternoon and quite literally going through EVERY SINGLE FILM CAN AND TAPE BOX in their archives, to see what's there? Have a moviola and a tape machine set up in the vault and just watch every damn tape and film they have. Who knows what's been misfiled that a comprehensive search could uncover? And who cares if it'd take years? Are we in any hurry? ;D I'd LOVE to do that. And I'm sure others would too. We could even do TVNZ's work for them and possibly locate an ep or two of shows they were too short sighted to keep when they had the chance eg A Haunting We Will Go, Tracy '80 etc. As well as DW, we could try and find eps of the underrated Brit SF show Freewheelers!, which I remember seeing as a kid and am pretty sure no longer exist. Jeff Stone
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Post by James Phillips on Aug 23, 2005 11:07:14 GMT
Why don't you..? Because they'll tell you to f*ck off, that's why. Do you really think, even for a second, that any tv company in their right mind is going to let a bunch of people who have no experience of handling delicate film and broadcast equipment come in and rummage through their archive..? Well, do you..?
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Post by Jeff Stone on Aug 23, 2005 12:04:48 GMT
In a word, yes.
And there's no need to be obnoxious. God I hate trolls.
Jeff
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Post by Zorba The Geek on Aug 23, 2005 12:08:45 GMT
This is precisely why I rarely go on bulletin boards. Some smart aleck is always ready and waiting to shoot down someone who suggests something even vaguely unorthodox. If they say no, then fine. What would it hurt to ask? And how do you know the people doing it have 'no experience' in handling material? That's fatuous reasoning. I, for one, have had ten years work in film and TV. I know my stuff. I don't think it's a silly idea at all.
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Post by Jeff Stone on Aug 23, 2005 12:54:26 GMT
I have no desire or need to justify myself on this or any matter, but le me explain my reasoning to those who actually want to give this idea a thought....
NZ fan Graham Howard once managed to get into the TVNZ archives and had a quick look round at what might be described as 'junk piles' of film cans and tape canisters. After only a brief search, he found film cans for Marco Polo #7 and The Moonbase #3. Sadly, the contents did not match the can labels, but what WAS inside one of them was a misfiled documentary TVNZ had been looking for for years. They were very happy that Senor Howard had done them that favour.
Now, think about this. If one fan, on his own, can find that in one day with just a cursory search, what could a small group locate over several days or weeks in a full blown hunt? It would be in TVNZ's interest to find *any* missing or rare material, and while permission to let outsiders do so is not granted often, IT HAS BEEN DONE IN THE PAST.
Never let anyone convince you that something potentially feasible cannot be done. If people listened to that nonsense, we'd still be wondering if it was possible for human beings to fly. Jeff Stone
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Post by James Phillips on Aug 23, 2005 12:57:03 GMT
In a word, yes. And there's no need to be obnoxious. God I hate trolls. Jeff I'm not a troll, Jeff, so you can spit your bile elsewhere. I'm just pointing out that however well-intentioned an idea this may be, no tv company is going to let in any Tom, Dick or Harry to rummage through their tapes, and certainly not their films. There's too much risk of damage. Sorry if you don't like that dose of realism. Funny that the people in here who offer realistic points of view tend to get flamed... Of course if, in a moment of insanity, they do let you in, I'll be happy to eat my words, but I'm quietly confident that I'll be on a word-free diet for a good while yet. And if you could point out exactly how I was being obnoxious, I'd be interested to read it.
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Post by James Phillips on Aug 23, 2005 13:02:15 GMT
This is precisely why I rarely go on bulletin boards. Some smart aleck is always ready and waiting to shoot down someone who suggests something even vaguely unorthodox. If they say no, then fine. What would it hurt to ask? And how do you know the people doing it have 'no experience' in handling material? That's fatuous reasoning. I, for one, have had ten years work in film and TV. I know my stuff. I don't think it's a silly idea at all. Unorthodox is fine. Unrealistic is pointless, unlikely to bear fruit and more than likely to irritate the tv companies involved. Your experience in film and tv might make you technically competent to operate the equipment, but to be brutally honest, it's still a hell of a leap of faith to let you loose on their film vault.
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Post by James Phillips on Aug 23, 2005 13:06:14 GMT
NZ fan Graham Howard once managed to get into the TVNZ archives and had a quick look round at what might be described as 'junk piles' of film cans and tape canisters. After only a brief search, he found film cans for Marco Polo #7 and The Moonbase #3. Sadly, the contents did not match the can labels, but what WAS inside one of them was a misfiled documentary TVNZ had been looking for for years. They were very happy that Senor Howard had done them that favour. Did he run the films himself? Or was there a telecine operator with him? I think looking in two cans is a world away from going through every can in the entire library, which would require an enormous commitment of man-hours on the part of TNZ, all of which would have to be paid for. I'll say it again, good luck if you can get away with it, but I won't hold my breath.
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Post by Steven Sigel on Aug 23, 2005 16:25:57 GMT
To Jeff Stone --
James is certainly not being a troll. A Troll is someone who posts something absurd or controversial in order to illicit an emotional response from people. All he did was point out that your proposal was unlikely to have much success.
Given my experience as a film collector for nearly 20 years, I have to tell you that I agree with him. There's no chance that the NZBC (or any other broadcaster) would let untrained individuals anywhere near their archives. It's very easy for important films to be damaged if they are mishandled by people who don't know what they are doing.
Moreover, even if you could gain access - do you have any idea how long it would take to go through all of the film cans to see what was actually in them??
The only chance you might have would be to find a Dr. Who fan who has a connection with the NZBC - or who works there, who has proper training and who they trust and who would be willing to spend his or her own time searching through the films -- seems pretty unlikely that such a person even exists...
Lastly - I want to point out that the Dr. Who prints were last used 30+ years ago , plus there have been some official searches done in the past - so the probability that you'd find anything is miniscule.
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Post by John Fox on Aug 23, 2005 16:32:43 GMT
The only way you might stand a chance with this idea is if the approach came officially from the BBC. If they could convince TVNZ that it was a good idea, and all the people involved were fully trained and trustworthy.. you never know.
Since the BBC are again contacting overseas stations, now would be a good time to suggest it. I'm sure Ian Levine or Paul Vanezis would be well positioned to advise if this is possible.
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Post by Wright Blan on Aug 23, 2005 17:42:21 GMT
Honestly, I feel this might have worked in years past. However, in our post 9/11 world, broadcasters are probably tightening the security a little bit more.
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Post by Jeff Stone on Aug 24, 2005 12:19:45 GMT
OK, OK. I'll shut up. It was just an idea, sheesh. ;D
Spit my bile?! God, if you thought THAT was bile, Mr Philllips, you clearly need to get out more. I have no ill will towards you. Why should I? I don't even know you! I was just a bit miffed at your initial and faintly patronising response to my message. "Well, do you", indeed. Would I have suggested it if I didn't think it was possible? Come on. I actually have a life, you know, and I don't spend it making pointless suggestions on BBSes for the hell of it.
I sincerely apologise for calling you a troll. As I have stayed away from flame sites - er, bulletin boards - until very recently, my grasp of Net terminology is not wonderful. Sorry about that.
As other Kiwi fans who know me will hopefully tell you, I am not a stupid or unrealistically minded person. All I was suggesting was...let's just ask and see what happens! So sue me. Jeff
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Post by William Martin on Aug 24, 2005 16:06:26 GMT
If you think you could make it work then you should have a go. Perhaps you could get it touch with Graham Howard and see how he did it, he may have connections that could help. but on the other hand you may be told to go forth, still unless you try you won't ever know.
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Post by James Phillips on Aug 24, 2005 20:13:33 GMT
I was just a bit miffed at your initial and faintly patronising response to my message. "Well, do you", indeed. Would I have suggested it if I didn't think it was possible? Well, I'm sorry if I came across as patronising. Incredulous is the word I'd have used, as I was (and am) genuinely surprised that anyone really thinks that they'd be allowed this level of access to a tv company's archive. As I said earlier, I'll happily eat my words if they do let you in, and I'll be over the moon if you actually find anything, but my opinion is, and always has been, that I don't think you'll even get through the door.
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Post by Ronnie McDevitt on Aug 24, 2005 20:38:22 GMT
As Hartnell's Doctor once said, "I have never heard such nonsense in my life!"
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